


Immobilize

by orphan_account



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, I tried to make this Steve/Nat, Natasha is a shit, and I didn't want to force it, but these two are stubborn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-04 23:31:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6680311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seeing that Natasha got them out of the mall using her sneaky spy skills, Steve tries to pay it forward by getting them a ride. Tries.</p>
<p>(Missing catws scene taking place between the escalator scene and the drive to New Jersey.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Immobilize

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little plot bunny that has been sitting and poking at me since I saw tws in theatres, and I finally got the guts to type this up and post it. Just in time for Civil War, amirite?

They blend back into the crowd soon after they get off the escalator, Steve still looking a little dazed from the distraction-kiss only moments ago. It’s a bit of a saving grace, Natasha thinks; it’s keeping Steve from glancing around like a shoplifter watching for security. The last thing they need right now is to be stopped for looking too suspicious.

Steve reaches for Natasha’s arm and pulls her closer. Her eyes lock to the spot where Steve grabs her, until his voice pulls her out of her head.

“We’ve got a location, now we have to find a ride and get out of here before the STRIKE team finds us.”

Natasha links their arms together. “Sounds like a plan.”

Since they’re pretty goddamn close to being made by the STRIKE team, Steve and Natasha head for the nearest exit. They make their way through the crowd, sticking behind a fast-moving group of girls who are parting the crowd for them. With a semblance of a plan at hand, Steve seems to have snapped out of his daze; Natasha can feel the tension in the arm looped through her own, the alertness in his posture that is almost certainly visible to anyone looking for it. 

Near the exit, Steve spots a STRIKE member out of the corner of his eye, and starts to walk a little faster. Natasha tightens her arm through his and holds him back from moving too fast, ducking behind a kiosk instead.

They hit the doors and leave the mall. Natasha steers Steve towards a more packed portion of the parking lot with a nudge. As they walk, Natasha keeps an eye on their surroundings, watching faces for recognition and looking in car reflections to see if they have a tail. Thankfully, the STRIKE team seems to have lost them for now.

They won’t get very far without some wheels. Natasha is sure that SHIELD has eyes all over the transit system and they need to get out to New Jersey, after all. She knows they have to leave fairly quick, and without drawing too much attention. And that involves getting a vehicle without much trouble. That meant taking someone’s keys.

She scans passers-by as they walk to and from the mall. Far up ahead, a couple jumps out of a newer Silverado and heads towards the mall. The woman is almost bouncing, dragging the man along in her excitement, and the man is acting reluctant, but his eyes show he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Whatever they’re doing, they probably won’t be missing their vehicle for a while. _Perfect._ Steve seems to have noticed their exit too, since he perks up as the the couple leaves the vehicle.

Steve leans over to her ear, and she feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. _Focus, Natasha._ “Those two there look like they’re gonna be a while. I say that truck is our best bet.” he murmurs.

Natasha nods her assent, a plan already forming in her mind. She picks up the pace and walks towards the couple, dragging Steve along behind her. Steve gives her a look, but keeps in step. The couple isn’t paying attention to Natasha, too engrossed in their interactions. Right as her shoulder collides with the man’s, Natasha sneaks his keys from his pocket. She turns her head and throws a quick ‘Sorry’ over her shoulder without pausing..

Steve gives her another look. “Eyes on the prize, Nat. We don’t need to be stealing wallets.”

Huh. And she thought Steve was on the same page as her. Natasha fiddles with the keys she now has stashed in her hoodie and unlocks the truck, but before she can pull them out, Steve is tugging her along.

“Come on, I can get us a ride this time,” Steve says, pulling her out of her thoughts. Too caught off guard to protest, Natasha lets herself be dragged along to the truck.

Steve leads her to the truck they had both been eyeballing. She smirks to herself. _Looks like Captain America isn’t above a little grand theft auto._ But how did Steve know how to steal a car?

Steve lets go of her arm and pulls out a pocket knife. He gives Natasha a glance that is a curious mix of sheepish and, _“Hey, watch this,”_ before stepping up to the driver’s door. He gives the handle an experimental pull, eyebrows raising in surprise when the door opens for him. Then he gives a little grin.

“I guess we lucked out, huh? Already got the hard part out of the way.”

Natasha grins back, but for an entirely different reason. His comment is a clear giveaway that Steve has no idea how to hotwire a vehicle of this type. With this new information in mind, Natasha decides to stand back and watch Steve try his hand at starting the truck. They lost their tail when Rumlow had looked past them on the escalator; no one had followed them outside. They have time, so Natasha could entertain herself with watching Steve try to figure out the truck.

“Hop in,” Steve says, pulling himself into the driver’s seat. Natasha slides herself into the passenger seat and watches as Steve stares at the steering column for a few moments.

“I um, I’m not completely sure how to get this plastic off…” Steve trails off as he shifts in his seat, trying to get a better look at what he’s working on. After some wiggling and pulling and some muttered curses for good measure, the bottom half of the dash comes away with a series of snaps, and Steve smiles to himself. 

Natasha watches as Steve turns back to the dash and gawks a little at all the wires hanging in the compartment. She watches as he traces their paths, trying to find the right ones. After a triumphant “Hm!”, he tugs on a few wires, working them away from the bunch. Natasha raises an eyebrow at his choice. 

Pulling out his pocket knife again, Steve begins fiddling with the wires. Touching two of the wires together, the dashboard comes to life, the truck letting out a series of ‘ding’s to let Steve know that he’s not wearing his seatbelt.

Steve grins a little and turns to Natasha. “Told you I could get us a ride,” he says, fiddling with the wires again. Natasha bites her lip, trying to hide a smile.

Steve touches a third wire to the first two. The engine cranks, but sputters and stops as soon as the third wire is removed again. Steve’s smile fades a little. He tries again, and the engine wheezes, but still doesn’t turn over.

“I don’t- this should be working,” Steve says, his cheeks heating up a little, to Natasha’s amusement. She lets him try a couple more times before she puts him out of his misery, stopping him with a hand on his arm. He faces her, looking a little flustered. “You must’ve done this before- I don’t- why isn’t this working?”

Natasha bites her lip, glancing out the windshield to hide her smile. “This truck has an engine immobilizer Steve; every car made after 2007 has one. There’s a transponder built into the key and you aren’t driving this truck away without that.”

Steve narrows his eyes at her. “You knew this whole time?” Natasha turns back to him and gives him a mock frown.

“Hey, I wasn’t sure. For all I knew, Barton taught you how to bypass that.” Steve continues to stare at her, cocking an eyebrow after a moment of silence. “Okay fine, your comment about the door being the hardest part gave you away. I was curious about what you would do.”

Steve looks out the windshield, tapping the steering wheel in hand. He couldn’t believe her sometimes. “Can you at least get this thing running so we can get out of here before Rumlow has the STRIKE team search the parking lot?”

“Nah, we don’t have the tools or the time to do that. Besides,” Natasha pulls the keys out of her pocket and gives them a shake, “I already got us the keys.”

“So that’s what you pulled off the guy? Why didn’t you say something before?” Steve leans back in his seat, exasperated. 

“The same reason I didn’t say anything about the immobilizer, Steve. I wanted to see what you would do. Totally worth it, by the way.” Natasha says.

Steve sighs and looks down at the mess of wires at his feet. “Well I guess we don’t need these out anymore.” He shoves the wires back under the dash and snaps the dash panel back in place. He makes a move to exit the truck, but is stopped by Natasha. Natasha holds out the keys to him. Steve raises an eyebrow. 

“You wanna drive, Steve? I think you deserve it for trying so hard.” Steve sighs, trying to mask a smile, and grabs the keys from her. 

This time the truck starts without a problem. Steve pulls out of the parking lot and gets them headed for a highway that will take them to New Jersey.

Natasha leans back in her seat and smiles. “That was some good effort you put in there, Steve. Next time though, I’ll show you how to steal a car using a shoelace.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic needed to happen because it is literally impossible to break in and drive away a truck that new without time, fancy gadgets, or extreme skill, and I'm pretty sure Steve didn't steal cars in Nazi Germany by swiping Nazis’ keys.
> 
> I'm new to actually posting, usually I'm just a reader, so I'd love to know your thoughts, and constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!


End file.
